Baron Humbert von Gikkingen and Louise Statues
Origin Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (usually just called "The Baron") is a character who first appeared as a minor character in Whisper of the Heart before getting a larger role in The Cat Returns, both films made by Studio Ghibli. The Baron is a statue who was created to look as realistic by his creator as possible. Louise was created to be his bride, made by the same creator. In [http://studio-ghibli.wikia.com/wiki/Whisper_of_the_Heart Whisper of the Heart], he is one of a pair of statues created along with his bride, Louise, in a far-off country (likely Germany). Her statue went missing during the war and, despite searching by The Baron's owner, was never found. He became a character in the main character's book within the movie. In The Cat Returns, he gains a more prominent role. The main character in that movie, a girl named Haru, finds herself in trouble after helping a cat who was about to be run over. That cat turns out to be a prince of the Cat Kingdom, and as thanks, the cats give Haru gifts of catnip and mice, and she is offered the Prince's hand in marriage. Her mixed reply is mistaken as a yes, and she ends up seeking The Baron for help. The Baron, at the start of the movie, says "If you find yourself troubled by something mysterious or a problem that's hard to solve, there's a place you can go where you always find help. You just need to look for it." Creation The statues were created long before their being used by Studio Ghibli for the movie Whisper of the Heart. It is believed they were created before the Second World War in 1930s Germany by an unknown artist. While the exact nature of their creation is unclear, it is believed that the same artist who created them also made them into the artifact's that they are. They eventually made their way to Japan, where they became used by Studio Ghibli as the inspiration for two of their movies. Effects The artifacts have two different ways of activation, though the effects are the almost the same regardless of which method is used. The first method of activation is to separate the artifacts from each other's presence. They will face towards the direction of the other when they are farther than a foot apart and will pull the holder towards the partner until they are brought together again. Upon being brought together, the pair will pull the user in the direction of what they desire most. What is desired by the heart and the mind might not be the same thing, and it will always be led by the heart. The second method offers a little more assistance than the first. If the user is in close proximity to the statues and is in need of help to solve a problem, the statues will become animate and can move off their base, helping the person solve the problem bothering them. The statues will offer advice and encouragement, but the person has to solve the problem on their own in the end. The statues will teleport back to their bases within one minute of the person solving their problem. After use, the affected person will gain cat-like features for 48 hours. If the person who separates the statues also brings them back together, they will not help that person to what they desire most. Collection This artifact has pinged several times throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, starting in 1947, when the Warehouse received a ping that a person had rejoined two statues together before finding his true calling as a school teacher for orphans. However, when agents arrived to look for the artifact, the man revealed that he had given away the statues, as "they had helped him find what his heart desired most, that which his brain could never recognize". It pinged again in 1967, this time in England, where it was said that people were able to get help with their problems from cat statues. By the time the agents arrived, the statues had once again been sold to an overseas collector. When the statues appeared as characters in the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart in 1995, the Warehouse suspected that the artifacts were in Japan. Sure enough, they pinged weeks later, as one of the writers on the film said that he had found what his heart most desired after reuniting the two statues, which had apparently been separated at some point. When the agents arrived in Japan to collect them, however, the man had given the statues to someone else, as they had helped him and he wished to share that with others. In 2014, after receiving a ping in Ontario of people able to be helped by cat figures, Agents Pete Lattimer and Myka Bering were able to arrive and snag the artifacts before they disappeared once again. Trivia *Artie has used this artifact several times to help him when he faces difficult problems. When asked why, he simply says "They don't mind when I am frustrated." **He has told the other agents that they are safe enough to use when you have a problem, since they will return to their bases on their own and won't disappear from the Warehouse. However, agents must register their use of the artifact on the display next to it. *Trailer the Dog hates these figures and will try to catch them whenever they are active. *The artifacts are bifurcated and cannot be neutralized without both statues present next to each other. Neutralizing the statues after they are first brought back together will prevent the effects from happening. Neutralizing the bases of the statues will also neutralize them, returning the statues instantly to their bases and returning them to their natural state. Category:Artifact Category:Class P Category:Class N Category:Bifurcated Artifacts Category:ElsaRules!!!